Dublin

St. Patrick’s Festival 2015 celebrating Ireland’s national holiday will be held in Dublin from March 14 to March 17.

The theme of the parade this year “Celebrate Now” will see leading street theatre and pageant companies draw inspiration for their artistic creations from Ireland’s present, embracing “nowness” and savoring the moment.

Amidst the colorful pageantry, bands from the USA, Mexico, Germany and Ireland will deliver uplifting scores and inspiring rhythms. This spectacular procession will wind its way through the heart of Dublin city, bursting with color and theatrics.

Highlights to look forward to include the return of the Festival’s hugely popular and distinguished cultural program, I Love My City, the Festival Treasure Hunt in association with Ethiopian Airlines, Céilí House Live presented by RTÉ Radio 1, the Festival Big Day Out in Merrion Square, and of course the Parade which will feature pageants, bands and music from around the world.

Last year’s Festival Parade theme, “Let’s Make History” drew on “the past” and was the first step on this exciting, creative journey. 2016 will explore “the future”, asking the question, “who do we aspire to be in the next 100 years?”, completing the three-year theme and narrative of “past, present and future”.

Ireland and Portugal are to be granted an extra seven years to pay back their emergency bailout loans.

The EU and the IMF bailed out the Republic of Ireland in 2010 and Portugal in 2011.

The eurozone agreed to the terms at a meeting of finance ministers in Dublin.

Meanwhile, the eurozone finance ministers also said a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) EU bailout loan for Cyprus was ready for approval by member states.

That could happen by the end of the month and, if the IMF also gives the go-ahead, the first bailout money could be released by mid-May.

The plan for Ireland and Portugal is intended to give the countries’ financial systems more time to recover from the debt crisis after their bailout loans run out.

Ireland’s bailout money will run out later this year, and Portugal’s will run out in 2014.

Ireland and Portugal are to be granted an extra seven years to pay back their emergency bailout loans

The Irish and Portuguese repayment extensions are expected to be backed by all 27 EU members, which includes those outside the eurozone, later on Friday.

Eurogroup President and Dutch Finance Minister, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said the ministers in Dublin had commended Portugal on its success in implementing the bailout programme but “asked them to maintain the reform momentum despite the difficult economic and domestic conditions”.

He added: “Ireland is a living example that adjustment programmes do work, provided there is a strong ownership and genuine commitment to reforms.”

The deal could be seen as something of a reward “for good behavior”, but also as recognition that an austerity-first approach was not always the best option.

The extension is especially important for Portugal. When it received a 78 billion euro bailout two years ago, it pledged to take various measures in its budget to reduce public spending.

However, last week Portugal’s Constitutional Court ruled that several of these measures in the 2013 budget were unlawful.

If Portugal was to drop the measures because of this, it may not remain eligible for more funds under its bailout.

On Thursday, it emerged that Cyprus would need to raise an extra 6 billion euros to secure the 10 billion euro bailout from Brussels and the IMF.

While confirming that up to 10 billion euros in loans will be provided to Cyprus, the eurozone finance ministers also rejected reports that the country might be granted more financial assistance.

The Mythbusters busted up a California neighbourhood yesterday evening when an errant cannonball crashed through a minivan and a house.

The Mythbusters crew had themselves a close call as they were filming their latest stunt at a California bomb range.

Producers for the Discovery Channel TV show were firing a cannon, which they had built themselves, at the range, which is located near the Santa Rita Jail in the city of Dublin.

J.D. Nelson, a sheriff’s department spokesman and a consultant for the show, told the Contra Costa Times that the cannon had been used more than 50 times prior and there had been no problems.

The sheriff also told the paper that the stunt intended that the cannonball to go through several water-filled barrels and blasting through a concrete wall.

Instead, the ball missed its mark, firing past the barrels and through the wall before taking a bad hop and going airborne, bouncing toward a home on Cassata Place – 700 feet away.

But the damage was not yet done as the cannon ball crashed through the house on one side and exited through another.

The Mythbusters busted up a California neighbourhood yesterday evening when an errant cannonball crashed through a minivan and a house

The occupants of the home were sleeping at the time, and were not hurt.

The cannonball then plummeted into the minivan, breaking one of its windows and finally coming to a stop inside.

Prior to the incident, the group’s robotic and electrical guru, Grant Imahara tweeted: “Today we’re working with heavy artillery.”

The statement was re-tweeted by the show’s official Twitter account, but both posts were later removed when news of the incident came to light.

The owner of the minivan, Jasbir Gill, is thanking his lucky stars that he and his children came out of the incident alive – they had been in the vehicle moments earlier.

Jasbir Gill told the Contra Costa Times: “It’s scary. I was in the van five minutes before this happened.”

The bomb range has been shut down as authorities investigate the incident and try to determine what exactly went wrong.

Jasbir Gill told Contra Costa Times that he wants producers of the show, which has been on the air since 2003, to pay for his van and the other damage the cannonball caused.

No Dublin residents, or anyone on the Mythbusters crew, were injured in the incident.

The Mythbusters show follows the exploits of special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who use their knowledge to prove or disprove different hard-to-believe aspects of films, TV, the internet and other rumours.

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